Customer Reviews

Separated By Birth

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Fuzzy Wuzzy's Summary:

***** Highly recommended with warm fuzzies!

The Vermillion Lies sisters, along with the Aussie band The Grates, are two of my favorite musical discoveries during the past year. I recently saw them live in Denver - just the two of them without other band members or dancers that are in some of their shows. It is hard to classify their songs except to say that they are a very eclectic mixture of stylings with very clever, quirky, sometimes subversive lyrics. The songs vary from vintage jazz to mellow folk to circus-inspired melodies. Some of the "found sounds" used in their music are made by using everything from hardware tools like hammers, to toy pianos, kazoos, and a whole smorgasbord mishmash of found objects that they keep in a box on the stage during a performance. My only nitpick is that many of the songs are quieter brooding contemplative pieces. The song "White Picket" is a refreshing blast of energy placed in the middle of the tracks. Stylistically, Vermillion Lies would make an awesome live show combined with Tom Waits; I would pay top dollar to see both of them play together live in concert.

This beautiful little album very nearly defies description. While it can come off as very pop-inspired, there is a deeper, darker, richer vein running through it which can catch you off-guard. It definitely bears up to (many) repeated listens. Besides playing musical instruments, sisters Zoe and Kim Boekbinder, and friends, play an eclectic mix of seemingly found objects: barbecue grills, plastic lobsters, and more. They pair their wonderful voices (sometimes reminiscent of torch-song chanteuses, sometimes evoking the deep angst of Niko) with well-written, sometimes sinister lyrics. This album is one of my favorite finds of this year. And maybe last year, too.